Atlanta, Georgia - Police chief replaces squad after barrage of criticism in the wake of botched raid
Will new narcotics unit rebuild public's trust?
By Bill Torpy, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 05/23/07
Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington will replace the embattled narcotics squad, aiming to regain public trust a month after two squad members pleaded guilty to killing 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston in a botched raid.
"With new initiatives on the way to help restore confidence in the unit, we felt it important to start anew," Pennington said at an afternoon news conference, reading from a prepared statement.
He's put 14 new investigators and three sergeants in the narcotics unit, with plans to have a staff of 30 by year's end. The current members of the unit are being reassigned to unspecified jobs.
The changes are part of wide-ranging staffing shifts within the department involving 140 officers. Lt. William Trivelpiece, who has worked in the Office of Professional Standards and in the Major Crimes Unit, takes over narcotics from Lt. Stacie Gibbs, whose reassignment was not disclosed. Trivelpiece will be tasked with bettering the unit's training to include standards from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the FBI.
The chief said the changes in the unit "should in no way reflect upon the unit members who did their jobs with integrity and dedication."
But he added that a federal investigation is ongoing "and we don't know if anyone else in the unit is targeted."
The federal investigation, which started shortly after the fatal Nov. 21 drug raid in northwest Atlanta, found that some narcotics officers routinely lied to get warrants to search homes and make drug cases. In the Johnston case, the officers had planted drugs on an alleged street dealer, who then told them that a kilo of cocaine was in her home. They, however, skipped the step of sending an informant to the home to verify the information.
Officers Gregg Junnier and Jason R. Smith pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and federal counts of violating Johnston's civil rights.
Federal investigators later said some drug cops told them they cut corners to meet performance standards on making arrests, set for them by top brass. Critics have long said the department employs arrest and warrant quotas to motivate officers.
Asked about any performance standards Tuesday, Pennington said, "We want them to go out and enforce narcotics laws."
The chief said the new narcotics officers will be rotated off the unit in two or three years. This is in addition to a stiffer supervisory review of search warrants, which was announced two months ago.
Police union president Scott Kreher criticized the wholesale change in the narcotics unit.He said the unit will now be filled with officers not necessarily experienced in the often volatile world of street dealers. "It'll take years to get that unit up to speed."
The Rev. Markel Hutchins, who has represented Johnston's family, said Pennington's moves were a "step in the right direction, but a baby step."
Pennington said Tuesday that about two-thirds of the force had less than five years' experience.
Another notable change is the shift of Maj. Welcome Harris from overseeing the Office of Professional Standards, which investigates complaints about officers, to the major-crimes unit.
While operating the office charged with enforcing the ethical standards of police officers, Harris and three of his officers were found to have submitted nearly identical reports to justify their perk of getting city-paid, take-home cars.
Deputy Chief Carlos Banda said he saw a pattern in the reporting of what days the cars were needed when he was reviewing the take-home policy. "I got a list of take-home cars and noticed there was a problem where all were the same."
Banda said he discussed the issue with Harris, and he also alerted Pennington's top aide. Banda said he doesn't know whether the chief was informed.No other action was taken, though Pennington has vowed to fire any officer caught lying. "For the most part, we don't know if it was intentional or unintentional, " Banda said. "But we put them on notice these forms have to be done correctly. Bottom line was, a lot of times these forms had been done [this way] year after year and people got into the habit."
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